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 75 Years of Facts & Figures
Michael Heylin
Since 1948, C&EN's editorial lineup has included its annual Facts & Figures for the Chemical Industry feature. This has long been the most exhaustive compilation of industry statistics published in any magazine. Since 1979, C&EN has also presented each year the companion Facts & Figures for Chemical R&D. So this special C&EN issue celebrating the 1923-98 era of the chemical enterprise in the U.S. would be incomplete without a presentation of the statistics of the major chemical parameters over the past 75 years. All of the data sets presented here go back at least to the post-World War II period. But many do not go back all the way to 1923. This is for a variety of reasons. For instance, some now very important sectors of the chemical world, such as thermoplastics, did not exist 75 years ago. For some other measures, the level of activity in the early years was so low compared with today's that it cannot be meaningfully presented on a simple graph. For instance, chemical exports were $70 million in 1932. This compares with almost $63 billion in 1996. In other areas, data have not been kept on a consistent basis all the way back to 1923. Seventy-five years can bring enormous changes in any human activity. For instance, the population of the U.S. was about 110 million in 1923. Today it exceeds 268 million. The cost of living today is about 12 times what it was during the Depression of the 1930s and, in current dollars, the gross national product is 135 times larger. Even modest rates of growth bring great change when they are sustained. For instance, a steady 2% annual growth rate translates into a 169% gain over 50 years and a 324% gain over 73 years (the latest year for which data are available is 1996). With a 3% growth rate, these long-term gains balloon to 338% and 765%, respectively. All of the data presented are consistent with a chemical enterprise that has grown enormously over the years and that continues to grow. Most of the data are also consistent with the maturity that eventually comes to any enormous activity-with a peaking of growth coming roughly 20 years ago and with slower, more halting, but probably more sustainable, growth since. |
American Chemical Society Membership
Chemistry Graduates
Chemical Industry Employment
Federal R&D Outlays, Chemical Trade
Chemical Production, Shipments
Chemical Producers
Polymers
Sulfuric Acid, Caustic Soda
